[Sundae]

Of course - I didn't take into account the vast number of medically qualified Indians who need to turn their hand to illegal practice, given the still prevalent neccessity of money to buy jobs. So they qualify but don't have the family connections or hard cash to pay bribes - what better way to earn money than set up "backstreet" clinics to fulfil the needs of the growing middle class.

Especially if the mother's extended family is involved to pay for the test/ procedure.

The only brake I will apply is that the articles deliberately use number on the 1000s to make the fugures as large as possible. If you reduce them to 8.83 girls for every 10 boys, it shows that over 80% of women either do not seek pre-natal tests, or at least do not commit infanticide after they have given birth to a girl.

The really sad thing for me came in the final article.
Where women are scarce they are indeed prized. But only in the way that cattle are.
Their families sell them into lives completely unsuitable for their upbringing and their new husbands show such little respect that they will even change their name if they can't pronounce it (okay - that was one case, but it doesn't surprise me).

Perhaps the sexual revolution will have to wait at least one more generation.
Perhaps these mothers will value their daughters more.